Delhi Again Under A Thick Haze Of Dust

A thick blanket of haze enveloped Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) on Wednesday, with the Environment Ministry predicting that the dusty conditions, a fallout of dust storms from Rajasthan, were likely to prevail over the next three days. High pollution levels in Delhi are mainly due to the dust storms from the desert state, the ministry said after air quality in the national capital deteriorated beyond "severe" level. It has also alerted major construction agencies, municipal corporations and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to ensure water sprinkling, and asked Delhi`s Chief Secretary to issue appropriate instructions in the matter to the agencies concerned.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also convened an urgent meeting of the Task Force regarding implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) and issued necessary directions to contain local dust sources. The air quality in Delhi deteriorated beyond the "severe" level because of a ground-level dust storm in western India which increased coarser particles in the air, the Central Pollution Control Board data showed. The CPCB data showed that the PM10 (particles with diameter less than 10mm) level was beyond "severe" at 778 in Delhi-NCR area and 824 in Delhi particularly, leading to hazy conditions and limiting visibility.The CPCB said the pollution of this season was very different from that of last year.

According to CPCB, the air quality index at several places in Delhi crossed the 500-mark, with east Delhi`s Anand Vihar area recording an AQI of 891. An AQI between 0-50 is considered Good, 51-100 Satisfactory, 101-200 Moderate, 201-300 Poor, 301-400 Very Poor, and 401-500 Severe.